Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway | |||
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Map showing the new standard gauge line.
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Overview | |||
System | Heavy rail | ||
Status | In trial service | ||
Termini |
Sebeta, Ethiopia Port of Doraleh, Djibouti |
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Operation | |||
Opened | 5 October 2016 10 January 2017 (Djibouti) |
(Ethiopia)||
Operator(s) |
Ethiopian Railway Corporation Société Djiboutienne De Chemin De Fer China Railways |
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Technical | |||
Line length | 756 km (470 mi) | ||
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||
Electrification | Overhead line 25 kV AC | ||
Operating speed | 160 km/h (99 mph) | ||
Highest elevation | 2,356 m (7,730 ft) | ||
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The Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway is a standard gauge international railway that opened in 2017 and links Addis Ababa in Ethiopia with the Port of Doraleh near Djibouti city on the Gulf of Aden, providing landlocked Ethiopia with railroad access to the sea. Trial service began in October 2016, and regular services are expected to begin in 2017. The railway replaces the abandoned Ethio-Djibouti Railway that was originally built by the French between 1894 and 1917.
More than 95% of Ethiopia's trade passes through Djibouti, accounting for 70% of the activity at the Port of Djibouti. The railway has reduced cargo transit times from three days by road to twelve hours by train.
The new line was built between 2011 and 2016 by the two Chinese state-owned enterprises, China Railway Group (known as CREC for China Railway Engineering Corporation) and the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation. The same two companies also manage the operations of the railway, providing passenger, freight and maintenance services, through a joint company headquartered in Addis Ababa. A joint railway commission established by the Ethiopian and Djibouti governments will negotiate any remaining details about the joint company's operations. The fee that the joint company will earn has not revealed when the agreement was made in September 2016.
Loans to build the rail line were provided to the Ethiopian and Djibouti governments by the Exim Bank of China, the China Development Bank, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. It cost approximately US$4 billion to build.